Keith Urban: Nicole Kidman's "Loaded Silence Shuts Me Up"

Nicole Kidman doesn't let her husband wallow when he's feeling down in the dumps.

In the August issue of GQ Australia, Keith Urban, 44, explains why his wife of six years doesn't put up with his moping. "Negativity and doubt are always creeping into my life and having to be kept at bay. Thankfully, Nic is great at calling me on it, and our marriage is at the stage where she doesn't have to say anything," Urban says. "I hear myself prattling on with negative crap and her loaded silence shuts me up."

Urban doesn't say much more about the actress, 45, who's once again been making headlines thanks to her ex-husband Tom Cruise's recent split with wife KatieHolmes. "We try to keep a sense of privacy around us, while acknowledging that Nic and I both inhabit very public professions," Urban explains.

The "Long Hot Summer" singer, however, can't help but gush about his two daughters, Sunday Rose, 4, and Faith Margaret, 18 months.

"Being a husband and a father is a horrendous responsibility, but it's a beautiful opportunity as well," he tells GQ Australia. "I'm always balancing the need to encourage the girls' freedom and not impose on their own journey with that primal need of the father and husband to protect and guide them every step of the way."